Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-03-31
CHAPTER VI.
WATER! WATER!

/
| of bodily fatigue had been satisfied, the tor
! turing thirst from which / was suffering as
serted ITSELF L could sleep no more. l had
been dreaming that was bathing in run
ming stream, with greer banks and trees up
! on them, and avoke to End myself in that
arid wilderness, and to remember that as
| Umbopa had said, it we did not find water
| that day we must certainly perish miserably.
| No human creature could live long without
water in that heat. / sat up and rubbed my
| grimy face with my dry and horny hands.
| My lips and eyelids were stuck together,
and it was only after rubbing and with an
effort that l was able to open them. 1t was
not far off the dawn, but there was none of
the bright feel of dawn in the air, which
was thick with hot murkinesS / cannot de-
! scribe The others were still sleeping.
Presently it began to grow light enough to
read, SO L drew out little pocket copy of the
| 'Ingoidsby Legends / had brought with
me, and read the ''Jackdaw of Rheims -
| When | got to where-
| "A nice little boy held a golden ever.
Embossed, and filled with water as pure
| As any that flows between Rheims and Ma
mur,'
l literally smacked my lips, rather tried
| to smack them The mere thought of that
| pure water made me mad.
AS soon as we were all well awake we fell
to discussing the situation, which was seri-
GUS enough. Not drop of water was left.
We turned the water-bottles upside down.
and licked the tops, but it was failure; they
were as dry as bone Good who had charge
Of the bottle of brandy, got it out and looked
at it lOngingly; but Sir Henry promptly
took it away from him. for to drink raw spirit
N " hoy 10, itot fI,o a,,6
IF we do not find water we shall die," he
said.
IF we can trust to the old don's map there
should be some about" | said; but nobody
seemed to derive much satisfaction from the
remark. 1t was SO evident that no great
faith could be put in the map. 1t was now
gradually growing light, and as we sat blank
ly staring at each other, L observed the Hot
tentot Ventyogel rise and begin to walk
about with his eyes on the ground. Pres
emily he stopped short and uttering a gut
tural exclamation, pointed to the earth.
What is it?' we exclaimed; and simulta-
reously rose and went to where he was
standing pointing at the ground.
WELL" said I, cit is pretty fresh spring
box spoor; what of it?'
"Springbucks do not go far from water"
he answered in Dutch.
No" [ answered, II forgot; and thank
God for it,"
This little discovery put new life into us;
it is wonderful how, when one is in des-
pcrate position, one catches at the slightest
hope and feels almost happy in it. On a
dark night single star is better than moth
ing.
Meanwhile VentvogeI was lifting his snub
nose, and shifting the hot air for all the
world like an old Impala ram who scents
danger. Presently he spoke again.
II smell water" he said.
Then we felt quite jubilant, for we knew
what wonderful instinct these wild-bred
men possess.
Just at that moment the sun came up glo-
! rioUSly, and revealed so grand a sight to our
astoniShed eyes that for q moment or two we
even forgot our thirst.
For there, not more than forty or fifty
miles from us. glittering like silver in the
early rays of the morning sun, were Sheba's
breasts; and stretching away for hundreds
of miles on each side of them was the great
SULLIVAN Berg. Now that /, Sitting here, at
| tempt TO describe the extraordinary grandeur
and beauty Of that sight, language seems to
| fail me. [ am impotent even before its
memory. There straight before u.s. were
| two enormous mountains, the like OF which
are not I believe, to be seen in Africa, if
| indeed, there are any other such III the
world, measuring each at least fifteen thou
sand feet in height standing not more than
a dozen miles apart, connected by precipi-
| tOus cliff of rock and towering up in awful
| white SOlemnity straight into the sky. These
mountains standing thus, like the pillars Of
| a gigantic gateway, are shaped exactly like
| a WOman'S breasts. Their bases SWeled
| gently Up from the plain, booking, at that
distance, perfectly round and smooth; and
! on the top of each was vast round hlIIock
covered wi,h snow, exactly corresponding to
the nipple on thu female breast. The stretch
/ of cliff winch connected them appeared to be
some thousand feet in height, and perfectly
PERCEPTIONS, and on each side Of them, as far
as the eye could reach, extended similar
lines of cliff, broken only here and there by
| fiat table topped mountains, something like
| the world-famed one at Cape Town; q for
nation, by the way, very common in Africa.
To describe the grandeur of the whole
| view is beyond my powers. There was
| something SO inexpesSibly solemn and over
towering about those huge yolcanoes-tha1
it fairly took our breath away. For awhile
the morning lights played upon the snow
and the brown and swelling masses beneath
and then, as though TO veil the majestic
sight from our curious eyes. strange mlStf
| and clouds gathered and increased arounc
them, till presently we could only trace thel
pure and gigantic outline swelling ghost-lik'
| through the fleecy envelope. Indeed, as We
| afterward discovered, they were normal,
wrapped in this curious gauzy mist, which
doubtless accounted for one not haVln:
made them out more clearly before.
Scarcely had the mountains vanished int
cloud-clad privacy before our thirst-literall.
burning questiOn-reasserted itself.
1t was all very well for Ventvogel to sa!
he smeIled water, but look which way w
would we could see no signs Of it, So far
the eye could reach there was nothing bu
arid sweltering sand and karoo scrub. "
walked round the hillock and gazed abou
anxiously on the other side but 1t was tn
same story, not q drop OF water was to b
seen; there was no indication OF pan,
pool, or a spring.
You are fool,' / said, angrily, to Ven
! yogel; ''there is no water"
But still he lifted his ugly snub nose an
. shifted.
! 81 smell 1t, Baas" (master), he answered
: sit is somewhere in the air.
i YES" / said, mo doubt it is In I'll